Arabian Journal of Geosciences (2021) 14:825 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-07177-1

ORIGINAL PAPER

Evaluation of transport empirical equations: case study of the Euphrates West Iraq

Sadeq Oleiwi Sulaiman1 & Nadhir Al-Ansari2 & Ahmed Shahadha1 & Rasha Ismaeel1 & Sura Mohammad1

Received: 7 December 2020 /Accepted: 23 April 2021 # The Author(s) 2021

Abstract in is an important and complex process. It is very important to know the nature and quantities of transported in course of rivers to achieve prudent water management. Due to the presence of most of the important projects on or near the banks of the river in the study area, so there is always a fear that these projects will be affected by the processes of , transport, and sedimentation among the decision makers. Therefore, there is a need to develop our knowledge of the suitable equations that can be applied with acceptable accuracy to obtain satisfactory results for monitoring the processes of erosion, sedimentation, and transport that occur in River path to monitor and anticipate the changes taking place in the areas of the riverbanks. This study was carried out to check the reliability of different sediment transport formulas using data collected from the Euphrates River at the thermal power station in Al Anbar province, Iraq. The study also aimed to select the best formula for this site. Hydrological data have been collected. These were used for computing the total sediment load in the river at a specified cross-section using common sediment transport formulas ascribed to Ackers-White, Bagnold, Yang, Colby, Shen and Hung, and Engelund-Hansen. The performance of these formulas was assessed based on the accuracy of the predictions of the observed sediment load within a limited discrepancy ratio. The evaluations showed that the Engelund-Hansen formula represented the best formula for this river reach.

Keywords Sediment transport . . . Euphrates River . Sediment transport formulas

Introduction sediment load is derived from the bottom and sides of the (Salih et al. 2020). Today, one of the major issues Most rivers are self-formed, or alluvial (Sui-ji and Jin-ren facing water resource managers is the impact of bed load 2002). The distinctive path is created by and alluvial and suspended sediment transport on the resident aquatic or- rivers mobilizing and transporting sediment. With regard to ganisms and quality of water (Tao et al. 2019). In addition, the alluvial channels, the width and depth of the channel reflect majority of construction activities near or in the watercourse the water flow as well as the nature of the material which have the potential to result in reduced stability of the adjacent makes up the channel boundaries. Typically, rivers running riverbanks and/or increasing the bed load and suspended sed- through soft material have high sediment loads in comparison iment transport, as well as turbidity. Generally, sediment to the rivers which are exposed to bedrock, since much of transport rates are divided into bed load, suspended sediment load. The suspended sediment load is sometimes further di- Responsible Editor: Broder J. Merkel vided to the suspended and the wash load. The wash load sediment is the fine grain-size fraction derived * Nadhir Al-Ansari from the catchment surface. The key difference between the [email protected] wash load and the suspended bed material and bed load is that the wash load is supply controlled whereas the latter are gen- Sadeq Oleiwi Sulaiman erally not supply controlled but controlled by the transport [email protected] capacity of the river. The wash load represents very fine sed- 1 College of Engineering, University of Anbar, Ramadi, Iraq iment particles transported in suspension by the flow. The transport law for wash load is, therefore, very different from 2 Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Lulea University of Technology, 97187 Lulea, Sweden that for bed load and the suspended bed material load (Khullar 825 Page 2 of 11 Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:825 et al. 2010). The rate of transport of wash load is considered to The process of erosion and sedimentation that occurs con- depend upon the supply rate from the upstream catchment and tinuously during the process of water flow along the this cannot be uniquely related to the hydraulic parameters of Euphrates River in the study area is a subject of great concern, the flow. While the transport of suspended bed material in especially after each release of high discharges from Haditha alluvial channels is typically assumed to be controlled by river upstream of the study area. There are many industrial hydraulics and the sediment supply within the channel bed and commercial establishments built on or near the banks of and banks, the controls on wash load transport are likely to the river that will be affected in one way or another by the be more variable and complex. The wash load is supplied erosion, sedimentation, and transportation processes that take from upland catchment sediment sources and delivered to place in the river. Therefore, with the increase in the number the drainage network by overland flow during runoff pro- of projects on the banks of the river in the study area, which is duced by precipitation. Wash load sediment is highly mobile closely affected by the geomorphological dynamics of the and is not commonly deposited within the channel bed. The river basin, there is a need to develop our knowledge of the find of origin suspended sediment sources catchment is mechanisms of sediment transport and management and the attended by difficulty (Collins and Walling 2004). Most of equations that can be applied with acceptable accuracy to ob- the wash load material in the Euphrates River within the study tain satisfactory results for monitoring the processes of ero- area comes from the after the heavy rainstorms sion, sedimentation, and transport that occur in River path to that fall on the catchments in the desert upstream of the study monitor and anticipate the changes taking place in the areas of area. The days during which the sediment samples were taken the river banks and the associated transport of pollutants and were not preceded by any rainfall; therefore, no presence of fertile along these banks. To the best knowledge of the washing load material is expected among the suspended load research, in this study, sediment transport was calculated by materials. Because the study area is in an arid area and the applying several well-established empirical equations to the flow of the river is controlled by the Haditha dam which is Euphrates River. Moreover, many researchers use sometimes located about 130 km upstream of the study reach and traps numerical methods to simulate the flow of water and sediment the wash load of the river, wash load was excluded from the transport. Generally, the finite element (FE) approach proved measurement of total sediment load and ignored from calcu- to be a robust approach that has been used by many re- lations (Khullar et al. 2010; Mustafa et al. 2017; Walling and searchers to evaluate not only sediment transportation but oth- Collins 2016; Yuill and Gasparini 2011). Most sediment er geotechnical applications as well (Alimohammadi et al. transport equations are obtained assuming that the sediment 2021a, b;Ferrarinetal.2008); however, this approach is out transport rate can be determined from the dominant hydraulic of the scope of this research. The goal of this study was to variables (Afan et al. 2016). Because of the lack of consisten- provide decision makers and hydraulic engineers with an ac- cy of the assumptions involved, compatibility is often poor curate and reliable sediment transport equation that can be when such equations are applied for flow conditions different applied for designing the river morphological aspects and riv- from those for which they were developed. The calculated er engineering management. rates of sediment transport often differ from each other and from measured (Sharafati et al. 2019). The commonly used sediment transport functions include those developed by Yang Study site (1973), Colby (1960), Ackers and White (1973), Bagnold (1956), Shen and Hung (1972), and Engelund-Hansen The study reach for this research is the part of the Euphrates (1967) (Ackers and White 1973; Engelund and Hansen River opposite Al Anbar thermal power plant, which is locat- 1967;Mays2010; Mustafa et al. 2016). The transport of sed- ed in the west of Iraq in Al Anbar province, northwest of the iment in the Euphrates River within the Iraqi borders has been city of Ramadi at longitude (43° 01′ 17″) and latitude (33° 32′ studiedbymanyresearcherswhohaveestimatedthe 11″). This area is considered to be one of the important areas suspended sediment and the bed load at a number of sites on of the sedimentary plain through which the Euphrates River the Euphrates River. The accuracy of the results reflects field passes, Fig. 1 (Al-Mimar et al. 2018;Najmetal.2020). The data available for bed load calculation and the reliability of the location was developed as a type of thermal power plant, suspended load measurements. Some researchers have devel- where the station works by burning fuel such as heavy oil, oped relationships with the sediment transport depending up- creating high-temperatures, and high-pressure steam; such on the amount of passing through the river. The steam was applied to drive a steam turbine, which drives the annual sediment load passing through the Euphrates River power generator. The thermal power plant withdraws water within Al Anbar province for various studies was estimated from the Euphrates River through the intake upstream of the to be between 1.9 * 106 tonne/year and 2.1 * 107 tonne/year plant at a flow rate of up to 90 m3/s when operating the plant at (Al-Ansari et al. 2015, 2018; Al-ansari et al. 1988;Khassaf full capacity. This water is used to cool the turbines and is and Al-Rahman 2005; Sulaiman et al. 2019b). returned to the river after allowing its temperature to reduce to Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:825 Page 3 of 11 825

Fig. 1 The location of the study reach located on the Euphrates River in Anbar Province the permitted limits. The sedimentation and islands in laser using a total station device. After the boat reaches the front of Al Anbar thermal power plant intake became a prob- required measurement point, the boat is fixed by the anchor, lem and thus emerged an urgent need to estimate the amounts then the depth of the water is measured using the echo- of sediments transferred through this section of the river and sounder device installed on the boat, and the temperature of develop solutions for the problems (Al-Ansari et al. 2019; the water is measured. After that, the samples of the bed load, Reisenbüchler et al. 2020; Sulaiman et al. 2019a). suspended load, and bed material load were collected. The total river width (W) was divided into five vertical widths (Wi), and the location of the measurement point is in the Materials and Methods middle distance between each of the five-measurement points, as shown in the Fig. 2a. Data collections A BLS30 Bedload sampler (Fig. 2b) is used for measuring bed load transport in this study. It has been designed to sample The data collected for this study included the bed load, the the sand, , gravel, or rock debris which are transported by suspended load, bed material particle size, flow velocity, wa- the river on or immediately above its bed. The orifice dimen- ter temperature, and width and bed elevation for the Euphrates sions of the bed load sampler were (76 mm * 76 mm). The River at the Al Anbar thermal power plant. Data collection samples were collected in a polyester monofilament bag with extended from Jun. 2019 to Sep. 2019. Monthly samples were 0.2 mm mesh under American Society for Testing and collected from five verticals in the cross-section for 4 months. Materials A.S.T.M. specifications for uniformity, resistance In the fourth month, only four verticals were used to measure , and wear. This does not absorb water. The bed load the bed load and the suspended load due to the shallowness of for each vertical of the river cross-section is estimated by the fifth measurement point and the inability to access the multiplying the measured bed load in the BLS30 Bedload measuring point with the boat used for the measurement pro- sampler by the width of the river vertical (Wi in mm) divided gram. As a result, only four points were used to represent the by 76 mm. The width of the river vertical (Wi) is varying entire width of the river for this measurement. The discharge according to the river level on the day of the measurement. of the Euphrates River in the study reach is controlled by the The obtained bed load within 30 min for the relevant vertical Haditha Dam. Therefore, the discharges in this reach do not of the river cross section is shown in the third column of vary greatly during most days of the year, and the presence of Table 1. Suspended load sediment transport was measured high discharge through the river is an exceptional event that using a depth-integrating suspended-sediment sampler (Fig. occurs only once every several years. So, the flows in which 2c) (Diplas et al. 2008). It is designed to fill at a rate propor- the measurements took place were considered to be represen- tional to the velocity of the approaching flow. By traversing tative of the normal flow of the river during the year. The river the at a uniform speed, the sampler is moved through survey was carried out using a boat equipped with anchors to each vertical to receive a sample proportional to stream veloc- position it at the desired location. The boat is directed to the ity. One sample per vertical is taken by lowering and raising location of the sampling points by a surveyor on the by a the sampler to and from the to achieve a 825 Page 4 of 11 Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:825

Fig. 2 a Euphrates River cross section; b Bedload sampler BLS30; c depth-integrating suspended sediment sampler; d Van Veen Grab; e VVG in the study area; f BLS30 in the study area

representation of the mean concentration and particle size in the bed. Figure 2 e and f illustrate the BLS30 Bedload sam- each vertical. The suspended load is equal to the suspended pler and Van Veen Grab (VVG) during the measurement sediment concentration of the concerned vertical multiplied process. The sediment properties and concentration for all by the discharge of this vertical. samples are determined in the laboratory. The longitudinal A Van Veen Grab (VVG) was used for collecting bed slope of the Euphrates River in the study area was measured material for examination (Fig. 2d). It can be defined as a as 0.00012. The data that have been measured are summa- sampler that is designed to collect the semi-disturbed sam- rized in Table 1. There is a direct relationship between the ples from the riverbed. Throughout the descent, the 2 buckets flow velocity and the bed load, but it is also not to hide the will be held in an open position via a hook. When the VVG stochastic behavior of sediment transport phenomena (Lisle hits the bottom, the tension on the hook will be released, and et al. 1998), where a turbulent wave that may occur at the the hook will be disengaged. When the sampler is raised, the front of the measurement point may cause the sediment to buckets will close and automatically collect the sample from move as a suspended load for some time and then moved as a Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:825 Page 5 of 11 825

Table 1 Summary of data collected

Month Vertical Bed load g/30 Suspended load D65 D90 Average velocity Depth Width Water Temperature min concentration g/L (mm) (mm) (m/s) (m) (m) (°C)

Jun. 2019 A 67.117 0.159 0.26 0.4 0.538 3.96 37.5 28.7 B 21 0.173 0.26 0.35 0.471 4.16 35.4 28.8 C 150.06 0.207 0.25 0.3 0.737 4.46 36.6 28.8 D 272.33 0.351 0.24 0.35 1.011 2.96 36.2 28.7 E 27.044 0.201 0.3 0.4 0.791 2.66 57.3 28.7 Jul. 2019 A 2.89 0.294 0.25 0.3 0.563 3.79 36.6 29.6 B 10.29 0.027 0.25 0.3 0.55 3.99 35.4 29.4 C 17.62 0.344 0.25 0.3 0.63 4.29 36.6 29.4 D 7.91 0.094 0.26 0.34 0.611 2.79 36.2 29.4 E 23.81 0.196 0.29 0.4 0.46 2.49 56.5 29.7 Aug. 2019 A 1.28 0.337 0.24 0.285 0.66 3.89 36.8 26.4 B 122.34 0.3418 0.25 0.3 0.671 4.09 35.4 26.4 C 257.09 0.043 0.27 0.35 0.88 4.39 36.6 26.3 D 848.36 0.206 0.29 0.4 0.912 2.89 36.2 26.4 E 348.51 0.22 0.33 0.39 0.693 2.59 56.7 26.4 Sep. 2019 A 123.6 0.34 0.25 0.29 0.46 3.48 35.8 25.3 B 268.33 0.081 0.25 0.3 0.89 3.68 35.4 24.9 C 227.3 0.237 0.26 0.35 0.715 3.98 36.6 24.95 D 88.34 0.221 0.295 0.4 0.682 2.48 36.2 24.95 bed load before settling as a sediment at the end time. This velocity, control the transport of sediments by the rivers. It is may be a possible explanation for some unexpected results in very difficult to deal with all these variables together. There some of the measurements. are number of equations that deal with total load transport in Using the various sediment transport functions referred to rivers. Some of the equations used to compare the calculated above, the total sediment load has been calculated for the load relative to field-measured loads are listed below individual data sets for the river using each formula and then (Gorczyca et al. 2020;Yang1996): compared with the measured values. The discrepancy ratio (r) Bagnold’sequation(1956) which is defined as the ratio of computed total sediment load  γ to the measured total sediment load for collected data was ¼ τ eb þ : V ð Þ qt γ −γ V α 0 01 2 considered for comparison of performance (Haddadchi et al. s tan w ¼ ð Þ 2013; Hossain and Rahman 1998). Qt Wqt 3

qt; computed ¼ ð Þ In which qt represents the total sediment discharge for each r q ; 1 t measured unit width, Qt represents the total sediment discharge, γs and γ represent the specific weights that are related to sediment and In which (qt, computed) is defined as the computed total water, respectively, tanα represents the ratio of tangential to sediment load, and (qt, measured) is the measured total sedi- normal shear force, e represents the efficiency coefficient, τ ment load. b represents the shear force acting along the bed, V represents the average flow velocity, w represents the fall velocity, and W Sediment transport equations represents the width of the river. Yang’sequation(1973) The total load of rivers is composed to suspended and bed wd u logC ¼ 5:435−0:286 log 50 −0:457log * þ loads. In addition, there is a third type of load that is usually v w  included within suspended load and is referred to as “wash wd u VS V S 1:799−0:409log 50 −0:314log * log − cr load.” The particles of this type are very small and lightweight v w w w which lead to a rough correlation between wash load and flow ð4Þ discharge (Bettes 2008). Several variables, including temper- ature, pressure, water discharge, particle size, and flow 825 Page 6 of 11 Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:825

Table 2 Comparison between the measured and computed total sediment load (tonne/day) for the different formulas

Month Vertical Measured Ackers and White Engelund and Hansen Shen and Hung Bagnold Yang tonne Colby tonne tonne /day tonne /day tonne /day tonne /day tonne /day /day /day

Jun. 2019 A 1099 264.50 1250 52.06 308.7 225.5 5116.7 B 1037 161.87 974.4 25.90 255.5 161.41 6105.5 C 2155 893.69 2847 270.5 537.4 554.2 10358 D 3291 2057.1 2985 721.7 577.9 729.1 2807.1 E 2094 945.31 1971 290.1 517.2 546.2 1063.6 Jul. 2019 A 1983 316.29 1301 63.48 310.5 240.1 4235.6 B 181.5 293.31 1298 57.60 306.2 236.0 5514 C 2940 511.31 1963 124.5 411.8 373.3 8388 D 501.4 307.84 921.0 66.19 250.0 201.7 251.1 E 1096 130.50 615.9 18.90 228.6 127.7 32.5 Aug. 2019 A 2751 609.01 1948 151.7 411.5 352.6 6081 B 2871 592.26 2005 158.1 418.6 372.3 6960 C 531.2 1378.1 3671 550.3 669.5 804.5 9063 D 1717 1068.2 1939 390.2 445.5 523.4 1671.3 E 1946.9 512.50 1307.7 139.26 401.52 363.3 482.3 Sep. 2019 A 1686.3 141.26 747.9 20.89 213.50 114.0 2266.3 B 817.4 1422.36 3010.6 508.4 574.11 635.2 5263.8 C 2138.0 691.23 2172.6 207.0 456.1 419.2 5951.8 D 1171.1 347.27 847.6 89.68 250.4 204.9 347.5

Vcr ¼ : ≤ u*d50 ð Þ V 2:5 u d 2 05 for 70 6 cr ¼ þ 0:66 for 1:2 < * 50 < 70 ð5Þ w v w u*d50 v ¼ : ð Þ log −0:06 qt 0 001 CVD 7 v

Table 3 Analysis of discrepancy ratio distributions of different formulas

Ackers and White Engelund and Hansen Shen and Hung Bagnold Yang Colby

0.24 1.14 0.05 0.28 0.21 4.66 0.16 0.94 0.02 0.25 0.16 5.89 0.41 1.32 0.13 0.25 0.26 4.81 0.62 0.91 0.22 0.18 0.22 0.85 0.45 0.94 0.14 0.25 0.26 0.51 0.16 0.66 0.03 0.16 0.12 2.03 1.62 7.15 0.32 1.69 1.30 30.39 0.17 0.67 0.04 0.14 0.13 2.85 0.61 1.84 0.13 0.50 0.40 0.50 0.12 0.56 0.02 0.21 0.12 0.03 0.22 0.71 0.06 0.15 0.13 2.21 0.21 0.70 0.06 0.15 0.13 2.42 2.59 6.91 1.04 1.26 1.51 17.06 0.62 1.13 0.23 0.26 0.30 0.97 0.26 0.67 0.07 0.21 0.19 0.25 0.08 0.46 0.01 0.13 0.07 1.34 1.74 3.68 0.62 0.70 0.78 6.44 0.32 1.02 0.10 0.21 0.20 2.78 0.30 0.72 0.08 0.21 0.17 0.30 Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:825 Page 7 of 11 825

Table 4 Summary of accuracies of different formulas where Ct is concentration of bed-material discharge (ppm), V Formulas The number of estimates Accuracy is the average velocity (fps), S is energy slope (ft/ft), and w is the average fall velocity of sediment particles. Ackers and White (1973)6 32 Colby’sequation(1964) Bagnold (1956)4 21 q ¼ ½Š1 þ ðÞk k −1 0:01k q ð10Þ Yang (1973)3 16t 1 2 3 ti Colby (1960)6 32 where qti is the uncorrected sediment discharge compute Shen and Hung (1972)2 11 which depend on V, D,andd50. k1, k2, k3 are the parameters Engelund and Hansen (1967)16 84 depending on D, d50, T,andC. Engelund and Hansen’sequation(1967)

"#1  In which C is defined as the concentration of bed-material 2 3 d τ 2 discharge (ppm), d is the median particle size, v is the kine- ¼ : γ 2 ÀÁ50 ð Þ 50 qt 0 05 sV γ ðÞγ −γ 11 2 g s=γ−1 s d50 matic viscosity (ft /s), u* is the shear velocity (fps), V is the average velocity (fps), S is the energy slope (ft/ft), Vcr is the average flow velocity (fps) at incipient motion, and D is the where qt is the total sediment discharge, g is gravitational depth of water. acceleration, and d50 is median particle diameter. ’ Shen and Hung’sequation(1972) Ackers and White sequation(1973) Shen and Hung (1972) hypothesized that the matter of ÀÁ1 gS−1 3 sediment transport is such a complicated phenomenon that ¼ g ð Þ Dgr d50 2 12 no single value for Reynolds number or Froude number, or v 0 1 even if it links the two values together, can describe the rate of 1−n n sediment transport under all conditions. Therefore, they rec- u* @ V A Fgr ¼ qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiÀÁpffiffiffiffiffi ð13Þ ommended using the following regression equation that was − 32log αD gd50 Sg 1 d50 derived from laboratory experiments to obtain the total sedi- ÀÁ 2 ment transport rate: logCA ¼ 2:86logDgr− logDgr −3:53 ð14Þ  ¼ − : F m logCt 107404 45938 G ¼ C gr −1 ð15Þ gr A A þ 324214:74734Y−326309:58909Y 2 hi 2 n 3 V GgrSgd50 þ : 3 ð Þ u* 109503 87233Y 8 C ¼ 1064 5; C ¼ ppm ð16Þ D : 0:57 0 007502 ¼ VS ð Þ Y : 9 w0 32 where Sg is the specific gravity of sediment, α; n is constants.

Fig. 3 Comparisons between computed and measured total sediment transport 825 Page 8 of 11 Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:825

Fig. 4 Comparisons between water discharge and total sediment discharge

Results and discussion Euphrates River in the study area. Figure 3 shows that the Engelund-Hansen equation provides the closest agreement The values of measured load and the computed total sediment with the measured total sediment loads and this is followed load are summarized in Table 2. These results provided by the by the Ackers and White equation. Figure 4 shows the rela- individual formulas vary and the agreement between them is tionship between the discharge of the given sector of the poor. This reflects the lack of generality the assumptions used Euphrates River cross-section and its total sediment load dis- in these formulas. Table 3 summarizes the discrepancy ratio charge that is measured and computed using the various for- for each formula. The results indicated that the mean discrep- mulas. This figure also shows that the Engelund-Hansen equa- ancy ratio for the Engelund and Hansen formula for 19 sets of tion is more closely in forecast with the measured total sedi- river data was about 1.6. The number of data with discrepancy ment load. ratio between 0.5 and 2 for the Engelund and Hansen formula The data coverage for the various selected discrepancy ra- is 16 from 19 with an accuracy of 84% because there are only tios was also evaluated, and the level of discrepancy ratio was three values out of a total of 19 data values that fall outside the expressed as a percentage of the date coverage as shown in discrepancy ratio class between 0.5 and 2. The accuracy of the Fig. 5. It is evident that as the value of r computed approaches different sediment transport functions is summarized in one, this improves the accuracy of the values computed by the Table 4. equations. Figure 5 shows that all the equations used to The comparisons between theses formulas indicated that calculate the total sediment load for the studied area did not the Engelund and Hansen (1967) formula provides the achieve the discrepancy ratio value very close to the unity for greatest accuracy, followed by Ackers and White (1973)and all the measurement values. Figure 5 shows that the Engelund Colby (1960), and then Bagnold (1956), Yang (1973), and and Hansen (1967) equation was the best among the equations Shen and Hung (1972). Figure 3 shows the comparisons be- used to calculate the total sediment load, where most of the tween measured and computed total sediment load of the values of the discrepancy ratio for the data were between the Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:825 Page 9 of 11 825

Fig. 5 Distribution of different function on the Euphrates River

classes 0.5 and 2 and the value of the discrepancy percentage processes in it. Sediment transport datasets collected from an within class 1 reached 52%. area of the Euphrates River located in Anbar Province in western Iraq were used in the current study. The findings indicated the following: Conclusions 1. The Engelund and Hansen (1967) formula provided the The motivation of the current research was to investigate the moist reliable estimates sediment transport for this partic- capacity of some empirical equations for estimating sediment ular case study. The second order of the best formula was transport. This is required due to the complexity of the sedi- observed for the Ackers and White (1973) and Colby ment transport process and the difficulty of conducting mea- (1960) and others. surements, especially in natural rivers. It is not possible to 2. For the purpose of the practical engineering perspective, accurately predict the total sediment load. Specification the the Engelund and Hansen (1967) formula can be consid- sediment transport equations that can be applied with accept- ered most appropriate for hydraulic and able accuracy to obtain satisfactory results for monitoring the design and sustainability. processes of erosion, sedimentation, and transport is very im- 3. This research can be further extended in the future by portant in reducing the time and effort spent in evaluating and applying some advanced computer models where the sed- monitoring erosion and sedimentation processes in the study iment transport can by estimated using more accurate and area considering the scarce and lack of measurement advanced technology. 825 Page 10 of 11 Arab J Geosci (2021) 14:825

Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the funding support by Al-Ansari N, Adamo N, Sissakian VK, Knutsson S, Laue J (2018) Water the Lulea University of Technology (LTU). Also, the authors would like resources of the Euphrates River catchment. J Earth Sci Geotech to acknowledge their gratitude and appreciation to the data source College Eng 8(3):1792–9660 of Engineering, University of Anbar (UOA), Iraq Al-Ansari N, Adamo N, Sissakian VK (2019) Hydrological characteris- tics of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. J Earth Sci Geotech Eng Author contribution SOS, AS, RI and SM: data curation; formal analy- 9(4):1–26 sis; methodology; investigation; visualization; writing—original draft; Alimohammadi H, Zheng J, Buss A, Schaefer VR, Williams C, Zheng G review and editing draft preparation; software. NA and SOS: methodol- (2021a) Finite element viscoelastic simulations of rutting behavior ogy; review and editing draft preparation. Resources; software; supervi- of hot mix and warm mix asphalt overlay on flexible pavements. Int sion, conceptualization; project administration; writing—review and J Pavement Res Technol 14(6):708–719. https://doi.org/10.1007/ editing. s42947-020-0057-5 Alimohammadi H, Zheng J, Schaefer VR, Siekmeier J, Velasquez R Funding Open access funding provided by Lulea University of (2021b) Evaluation of geogrid reinforcement of flexible pavement Technology. performance: A review of large-scale laboratory studies. Transportation Geotechnics 27(November 2020):100471. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.trgeo.2020.100471 Data Availability The data used in the current research has been described Al-Mimar HS, Awadh SM, Al-Yaseri AA, Yaseen ZM (2018) in the manuscript. Sedimentary units-layering system and depositional model of the carbonate Mishrif reservoir in Rumaila oilfield, Southern Iraq. 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